BTnode
Customer: ETH Zurich [TIK]
Based on a Bluetooth radio and a micro controller, the BTnode is an autonomous wireless communication and computing platform which serves as a demonstration platform for research in mobile and ad-hoc connected networks (MANETs) and distributed sensor networks. The BTnode was jointly developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Science and Technology (ETH, Zurich) by the Computer Engineering and Networks Laboratory (TIK) and the Research Group for Distributed Systems. The BTnode is currently being used in two major research projects, i.e. NCCR MICS and Smart-Its.
Our Contribution
Industrialisation of the ETH prototype design and production of small to medium volumes.
EUROPRACTICE – MCM
European Commission, 4th Framework Project (FP4)
The rapidly changing market for embedded and portable computing exhibits a steadily growing demand for improved reliability and increasing processing performance in progressively smaller form factors. A Pentium® based Multi-Chip-Module (MCM) was designed and manufactured during the 4th Framework project «EUROPRACTICE-MCM». The main scientific and technical challenge of the project was to develop a technology demonstrator to show the potential of High Density Packaging (HDP) technologies.
Advantages of MCM-based solutions
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Results
The Pentium® MCM was mounted on thermally enhanced Plastic-Stud-Grid-Array (PSGA), a packaging technology using plastic studs moulded to the body of the package instead of large solder balls, which provides reliable, low cost packaging of high pin-count devices. An existing Pentium® module chipset with 2nd level cache (9 chips plus SMD components), DRAM interface and PCI host-bridge was used with thin film on silicon in a PSGA housing which was significantly smaller than the original packaged Pentium® processor, i.e. 25% of the original packaged Pentium®.
The SP5MX1 is a miniaturised version of the core of a Pentium® processor based Multi-Chip-Module (MCM) which is intended as a processor subsystem for use in mobile and embedded systems. First tests were successfully carried out with Windows NT running and some benchmark programs at a clock frequency of 100 MHz.
GPS Data Logger (ZHAW)
Customer: Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)
Under the leadership of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), the research project «mafreina» tracks tourists in National Parks in order to capture and model the needs and practices of recreation seekers in the countryside, e.g. in the “Biosfera Val Müstair” Natural Reserve in Switzerland. Based on the HW and SW of the OEM GPS Data Logger, one of our existing semi-custom devices, the ZHAW GPS Data Logger offers large data storage and stops logging to save power when not in motion giving a 7-day recording capacity. The custom designed housing uses a special manufacturing technology particularly suited to small volume custom enclosures avoiding the need for expensive tooling.
Our Contribution
- use existing semi-custom GPS-Data-Logger (OEM)
- integration of a low power motion sensor
- use of existing parts to maintain affordable costs (for low volumes)
- custom made enclosure for mechanical & environmental protection
«POLAR» (in Space)
POLAR: Gamma Ray Burst Polarimeter
Customer: European Space Agency (ESA)
ESA Contract No. 4000107117/12/NL/CB (HVPS)
ESA Contract No. 4000107120/12/NL/CB (LVPS)
Despite being discovered in 1960 (Vela satellites) Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are still full of mystery and the production mechanism of these very intense explosions in the universe is still unknown. To validate – or exclude – existing models about their creation, a precise measurement of the polarisation of the GRB is essential.
POLAR is a highly sensitive detector using the Compton Scattering Effect to measure the polarisation of incoming photons. With its large FoV (field of view) and a detection energy up to 500 keV POLAR will measure the polarisation of GRB emissions using low Z material Plastic Scintillators, multimode Photomultipliers and multi-channel ASIC Front-end Electronics. POLAR is scheduled for two to three years operation in space during which a large number of GRBs are expected to be measured.
First official photo onboard
space laboratory “Tiangong-2”
Low Voltage Power Supply (LVPS)
High Voltage Power Supply (HVPS)
Our Contribution
Construction of the POLAR detector was an international collaboration project with contributions from China, France, Poland and Switzerland. The scope of Art of Technology’s duties and responsibilities included the Design and Development of the Low and High Power modules, i.e.:
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POLAR was the only non-Chinese experiment onboard Tiangong-2, the Chinese space laboratory intended as an interim test bed for key technologies that was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JLSC) on 15th September 2016 and then de-commission on 19th July 2019 (as planned).
Our first electronics in space!
Measuring Permafrost in the Alps «PermaSense»
Customer: ETH Zurich [TIK]
Permafrost is a thermal subsurface phenomenon; made-up of rock, ground and debris which is frozen throughout the year within the steep alpine bedrock. Not visible at the surface, Permafrost thaws during the summer months and can seriously affect slope stability leading to dangerous natural hazards which may hinder the safe operation of man-made infrastructure in the surrounding area. As PermaSense devices are installed and operated at high altitude in mountain regions with a permafrost environment, the system and all of its component parts must run reliably at low temperatures and be able to withstand large, daily temperature changes (in excess of 40°C) depending on sun irradiation, wind and snow.
Due to the fact that the PermaSense devices are only accessible by helicopter during summer, a 2-3 year maintenance-free operation is absolutely mandatory. In order to ensure long-term, reliable operation the design of the system also had to take into the following demands into consideration:
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Solution
Data is collected via a flexible, distributed wireless sensor network (WSN) which has been specially adapted to the geophysical sensors, thereby enabling reliable and high-quality measurements in the extreme environmental conditions. The system developed featured, in addition to the in-mast integration of the GPS receiver and antenna, a 2-axis inclinometer, all electronics and cables and a 12V photovoltaic system, the following:
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Our Contribution
Design, development and industrialisation of miniaturised wireless sensors based on functional (hardware) model, including:
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Q-Belt Integrated Computer «QBIC»
Customer: ETH Zurich (IfE)
Designed to be comfortable to wear without compromising reliability «QBIC» is not just a wearable computer, it also serves a classic function… keeping your trousers up! Heart of the «QBIC» is a Intel Xscale CPU (Intel PXA263B1C400) which runs at a variable speed up to 400 MHz. The belt contains a battery, real-time clock and system bus extension for peripherals. Moreover the belt provides plugs for USB and serial devices (RS-232), VGA connector and power connector which can be used to attach to a mains supply, or an additional belt-attachable battery.
The buckle, which can be removed from the belt and slotted onto a developer board (for convenient programming), contains two circuit boards:
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Architecture
Features |
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«QBIC» is a fully-fledged computer integrated into an everyday accessory – a belt !
Designed to Wear
Although originally developed as a research platform to collect and process sensory data for medical monitoring and context recognition projects, QBIC can be used for a variety of applications, e.g.
Typical Applications | Projects and groups using QBIC |
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The Spectrometer Teclescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) includes an Imager (left) and Detector Module (right) (Photo: FHNW)
The STIX Instrument
Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX)
Art of Technology was awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the design, development, production and supply of the Detector Electronics Module (DEM) used in the STIX instrument, a Swiss experiment, funded by the Swiss Space Office and one of ten instruments on-board the Solar Orbiter.
Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on 10th February 2020, Solar Orbiter will travel to within 45 million km of the Sun (¼ of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, closer than any other spacecraft to date allowing a portion of the surface to be observed for longer periods of time without interruption. The Solar Orbiter mission will address the central questions of helio-physics, i.e. how does the Sun create and control the heliosphere?
Developed and built under the leadership of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern (FHNW), the STIX instrument will provide observations of the sun with unprecedented sharpness and direct measurements of solar winds and charged particles close to their point of origin. The new orbit will allow study of the far side of the Sun that cannot be seen from Earth… and for the first time, the polar regions.
STIX will contribute to understanding the mechanisms behind the acceleration of electrons at the Sun and their transport into the interplanetary space. STIX will also play a key role in linking remote-sensing and in-situ observations on Solar Orbiter with imaging spectroscopy of solar thermal and non-thermal X-ray emissions providing quantitative information on the timing, location, intensity and spectra of accelerated electrons as well as of high temperature thermal plasmas, which are mostly associated with flares or micro-flares in the solar corona and chromosphere.
The STIX instrument is divided into three subsystems operating in two different thermal environments: Feedthrough with two X-ray windows, Grids with aspect system and the Detector Electronics Module (DEM). The Grids and DEM are located inside the spacecraft, while the feedthrough is surrounded by the heat-shield and one of the windows is directly exposed to the Sun. The spacecraft interior temperature is kept at +50°C and -20°C in hot and cold operational modes respectively, while the CdTe detectors located inside the DEM are kept at around -20°C by a cold element provided by the spacecraft.
Detector Electronics Module (DEM)
Optical Alignment of the Detector Electronics (DeE-Q1)
Detector Electronics Module (DEM)
Customer: European Space Agency (ESA)
ESA Contract No. 4000108509/13/NL/JC
The Detector Electronics Module includes cold electronics with 32 detectors (aligned behind each collimator of the imager to perform photon-counting and spectroscopy in the hard X-ray range, as well as analogue buffers, filters and temperature sensors) connected to a cold element at −20°C, and warm front-end electronics (including analogue-to-digital converters, voltage regulators, test pulse generator, filters) possibly at +50°C.
The Instrument Data Processing Unit (IDPU) includes Power Supply Units (PSU), FPGAs to control the Detectors (configuration and event readout) and all ADC (for aspect system photodiode, temperature and photon energy signal encoding) as well as flight application software for scientific data processing and Space-wire communication with the spacecraft.
Our Contribution
Design, development, production, integration and test of | System design support |
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Support instrument integration and testing | Electronic Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) |
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